Global Watch

Sonnet Mondal to represent India in Ukraine

The Lviv International Literary Festival hosted by Publisher’s Forum, Ukraine will be hosting a three member Indian poet delegation for its 26th edition from 18th to 22nd September. City poet Sonnet Mondal will be presenting readings from his latest book “Karmic Chanting” in this festival which happens to be one of the largest and oldest East European book festival. Before this the poet travelled from Rome through Florence and Pesaro presenting book readings at Voci Lontane Voci Sorelle international poetry festival and Vaghe Stelle Dell’orsa festival. One of the most travelled Indian poets, Sonnet feels, “I wouldn’t have been able to write, if I didn’t travel. Crossing man made borders, which serve as baselines behind all types of conflict, gives me a feeling that I do not belong to a bordered land but to this earth.” In his latest book, the poet articulates in the tone of a mystic and has given a fresh direction to words that echo without being heavy. “I am in search of the very nature of the energy that makes us, sustains us and breaks us, and if it recreates us. My poetry is my self-awakening based on the profoundness of my past.” “We meet some people on our way and then never get to see them. A remembrance, sometimes with a sense of joy and sometimes with a sense of loss. Life in general is same. I try to converse with my surroundings more through poetry to diminish the sense of loss.” Touching various chords of life, his poem range from nostalgia to love and from wars to social evils. He nurtures ancient philosophies with contemporary thoughts making them relevant in today’s bursting world that often gets lost in the face of dilemmas. Mondal’s favorite city remains Struga in Macedonia where he first stepped in, when he started this quest of travelling the world. A poet who likes solitude as one of the best company is currently working on his travelogue “The Unsettled Poet”. “I hope to finish the book by the end of next year. It mostly comprises of unusual adventures in the course of my travel”, Mondal added.

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